


There Goes My Hero -  Watch Him as He Goes

by Zarry101 (DeanwillgodownwiththisShip)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M, Nurse Harry, Window washer Zayn, Zayn in a batman costume, pathetic fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-11 09:56:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15969953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeanwillgodownwiththisShip/pseuds/Zarry101
Summary: Harry is a nurse at the Children's Hospital, he falls for... Batman?Zayn is a window washer who dresses as Batman to entertain the kids in the hospital.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So it's 2018 and I'm writing a Zarry fic? I don't know what's happening anymore. Basically just a little idea what wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. Apologies if there are mistakes, I despise editing. Title taken from My Hero by the FooFighters.
> 
> Also I really have no thoughts on whether Batman is better than Spiderman! I like them both but maybe agree slightly more with Louis on this one! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

 

“I love my job”

Harry whispered to himself for the fifth time that hour, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to wake himself up. His eyes felt gritty and dry like sandpaper and he was sure he looked a thousand times worse than he felt. On nights like this he felt it was generally safer to stay away from mirrors, the lights fluorescent inside always seemed to cast a harsh, unflattering glow that highlighted the dark circles and bloodshot eyes.

 

Yeah, he definitely needed another cup of coffee.

 

All complaints aside, Harry really did love his job. He was first year out of university and landed the job of his dreams. He was working as a paediatric nurse in the Oncology Ward of the best children's Hospital in London, a position that was extremely difficult to secure as a first year graduate. For small town boy from Holmes Chapel it was certainly a change and Harry still couldn’t believe his luck.

 

But still, night shifts sucked. There was absolutely nothing that could change that fact.

 

 

He looked up at the clock. 4am, only one more hour until the world around him started to wake and people started their days, as his came to a close. It definitely wore on him, the days spent sleeping while the world carried on without him but it was only for a couple of days and like he said, he did really love his job. He couldn't explain the feeling he got when a child rang the bell announcing they were in remission, or a family got to leave the hospital together, happy and healthy. There was no greater feeling in the world.

 

Another glance at the clock told him it had only been fifteen minutes since the last time he checked. He sighed; it was really pathetic how he felt th little bubble of excitement in his stomach the closer the clock ticked to 5am.

 

So maybe there was something he liked about night shifts.

 

Or someone.

 

Every day at 5am the window washers commenced their day. Whilst this would normally be a completely irrelevant part of Harry’s morning routine at work, the past month something was different.

Lately, the men who were suspended at the windows on the outside their building were in costume. More specifically superhero costumes and it was a massive hit with the kids.

 

And if he was being perfectly honest with himself, it was a massive hit for Harry too.

 

 

It was always the same five guys every morning and they’d become a massive crowd pleaser with the kids on the ward. Instead of the grumbles and moans when the lights were turned on in the ward at 7am, the nurses found that the kids were wide awake at 5am every morning already chattering excitedly about their favourite super heroes.

 

There was a mix of both Marvel and DC characters to keep all the young fans happy, with Captain America, The Flash, Spiderman, Superman and Batman descending from the skies each morning.

 

They kept things interesting for the kids with mock battles and hi fives against the glass, no two performances the same. Harry noticed that Spiderman liked to hang sideways in his harness which never failed to get a cheer from the audience at the window. Harry, on the other hand held his breath, praying the man didn't slip and traumatise the children forever.

 

It was Batman though, that kept Harry coming back for more every morning. That had Harry frantically straightening his scrubs and trying to fix his hair at 4:40am in the morning.

 

He’d never been a huge fan of superheroes but the day he’d met Batman had changed his perspective on the characters.

 

Harry snorted to himself. He was half in love with a guy he could only refer to as 'Batman'. He’d barely even met the guy. stared longingly from the other side of the glass more like.

 

 

The first time he’d laid eyes on the guy he’d been just finishing his last round of observations on his patients. They remained all sound asleep which he counted as a professional win. He started to creep from the room, mentally applauding himself for being so silent. His co-worker Niall often like to refer to him as 'Baby Giraffe Styles' after a number of unfortunate incidents involving his long flailing limbs.

 

He’d made it almost to the door before movement at the window caught his eye. He felt like he’d been slapped across the face as he stared directly into the warmest pair of chocolate coloured eyes and lips that looked positively illegal.

 

That was about all he could see really as the rest was obscured by a mask and Batman costume but the guy smiled – smirked really as he lifted a hand in a quick wave.

 

Harry promptly tripped over the cord on an IV pump and landed with a loud crash, successfully waking every patient and their parent in the room.

 

Cheeks flaming, he shot a quick glance to the window, praying with every fibre of his being that he’d managed to get away without being seen.

 

No such luck.

 

Batman had his head thrown back in laughter, attracting the confused glances of his fellow heroes. His eyes were kind when he looked back at Harry, mouthing the words “Are you okay?”

 

Mortified, Harry gave a short nod and proceeded to look extremely busy cleaning up the mess he’d made with his tumble. The kids and their parents were thankfully distracted quickly by the heroes outside the window and Harry managed to make his escape.

 

Ever since then, Harry has followed a routine of watching the clock overnight and checking his appearance in the mirror at 4:40am. And if he’s done his morning medication round a little early and lingered in the rooms by the window... well that’s nobody’s business but his own.


	2. Chapter 2

 

If Zayn were to look at his CV it would paint a confusing picture. 22yr old Artist.  Barista. Batman?

 

Okay so technically that last one should say window washer but Batman sounded way more badass. His mate Louis would argue that Spiderman was far superior because he has actual powers and Batman, as he would argue ‘is just a regular weird dude who likes to dress in a bat outfit at night.’

 

Whatever, everyone who knows anything about superheroes knows that Batman is a total boss and would totally kick spiderman’s butt in a fight.

 

But that was totally off topic. Essentially, Zayn was an aspiring artist who harboured no illusion that he could support himself financially without a couple of odd jobs to pay his rent and fill his fridge. So, Zayn got a job washing the windows of the local children’s hospital. It was a pretty sweet job as far as jobs go; he spent most mornings suspended by a harness hundreds of meters up in the air. It appeals to the adventurous side of him and is way less boring that any office job would be.

 

He hadn’t initially been dressed as Batman but he remembered when his younger sister Saafa had been in hospital for a few days and how bored he and his sisters had been. As he got older he understood a bit more how hospitals operated, but hanging suspended outside the children’s hospital he couldn’t help but think about the kids inside and whether they were as bored as he’d once been.

 

He approached his boss who just happened to be his good friend and pitched his idea. Liam, being the easygoing guy he was, was more on board straight away, already calling dibs on Captain America. Predictably, Louis scoffed as his choice of costume and announced to the entire team that he would be choosing the far _superior_ superhero Spiderman.

 

The other guys in their team selected The Flash and Superman as their superhero of choice and their superhero window washing squad was complete.

 

There was something about being in costume that seemed to spur the boys on while they hung from the roof each morning. It had been a slow first day with most of the kids being asleep for the first hour of their day, but then there had been a swarm of kids at the window pointing and waving. Zayn couldn’t hear them but their excitement had been tangible even through the thick glass. From that day on they’d had fans at the window from the second they descended from the roof.

 

And then there was _him._

 

The man with the obscenely long legs and curly brown hair that just touched his shoulders. Zayn’s fingers itched to touch that hair, it looked impossibly soft and like silk.

 

The first time Zayn saw him he could only be likened to a baby animal of some description with long limbs seemed to only just under his control. He appeared to be attempting to creep out of a room quietly as to not wake the kids. Even with the lights off in the room the sun provided enough light that Zayn saw a flash of teeth as the other boy grinned to himself, seemingly successful in his mission.

 

 

Until he looked up and saw Zayn hanging from the roof in a Batman costume. Then he promptly tripped and fell, eyes wide in shock and limbs flailing in all directions.

 

Zayn tried. Like really tried to hold in his laugh but he wasn’t a saint and it was too goddamn hilarious. He caught Louis and Liam looking at him like he’d grown a second head but he couldn’t begin to explain without cracking himself up all over again.

 

Once managed to stop his laughter—well mostly, he couldn’t help the occasional chuckle here and there, he tried to check if the guy was okay. It was a pretty spectacular crash after all. The long haired boy met his gaze long enough to nod quickly then left the room so quickly it could only be described as fleeing the scene.

 

After that first brief encounter with the curly haired nurse, Zayn waited somewhat impatiently to see him again.

 

* * *

 

The next time Zayn saw him, he was somewhat take aback by the boy’s beauty in the full light of day. He’d though the other boy was beautiful before but now he could see the bright green of his eyes and the smile with huge dimples that lit up his entire face when he chatted happily with his patients and their families. He wore a headband that day and Zayn couldn’t tear his eyes away.

 

 

Despite the feeling that someone was watching him, every time Zayn looked up, hoping to make eye contact with the nurse inside, the boy appeared engrossed in his work.

 

Zayn felt his heart sinking further with every day the nurse ignored him. It was a pathetic to be hopeful anyway; to the boy inside the hospital he was nothing more than a guy entertaining the kids inside.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They’d started to shake up their morning routine after the kids responded so well to seeing heroes cleaning their windows. Now they’d put on a little show each morning, pretending to fight off the bad guys and save their city. Louis, the cocky bastard had worked out how to hang sideways and pretend to shoot webs from his hands which was always a huge crowd pleaser. Zayn grudgingly admitted to him that it did look pretty cool, a fact that Louis had never failed to bring up after a few pints at their local pub on the weekends.

 

They’d even made it in the local paper which was insanely cool and Zayn had bought a few copies the day the story was printed and sent a copy to his family back home in Bradford, just to prove to his mum that he was still surviving in the big city all on his own.

 

 

 

Lately while he’d been interacting with the kids in the morning he’d noticed an older girl who looked around his sister Waliyha’s age. She never came right up to the window but watched from the back. She was there every morning and every time he looked up, she’d be gazing directly at him. There was something knowing in her gaze when she looked at him but Zayn was at a loss. He definitely didn’t know her from anywhere.

 

He might have noticed that the beautiful nurse who he definitely didn’t have any feelings for whatsoever seemed to spend lots of time talking to the young girl, always with a huge grin, dimples out in full force. It was a good thing he was suspended by a harness because that smile made him weak at the knees.

 

 

 

But like he’d said, Zayn had absolutely zero feelings about the guy and had barely noticed him all morning. He definitely hadn’t been following the other boy around with his eyes, silently willing him to look in Zayn’s direction.

 

Nope. No feelings at all. He was totally in control here.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Harry tried to play it off like he was excited for the kids every morning when the superheroes arrived, but he thinks some of the older patients may have figured him out. One of the older girls in particular seemed to take a special interest in Batman, watching him carefully while he worked outside their window.

 

“I bet he’s proper fit without the mask on” she said, somewhat out of the blue once day as Harry changed the dressing on her port where she received her medications.

 

“Hmm?”

 

She gestured at the window, “You know… Batman” she said with a roll of her eyes like she knew it sounded ridiculous, the nickname coming out of her mouth.

 

“I think he’s probably a bit old for you love, as delightful as I find you, it’s still fairly illegal.” He replied with a chuckle. The teenage girls on the ward loved him, he was always up for a good gossip session and if they were lucky he’d let them braid his hair.

 

Okay so that was slightly selfish, he loved people playing with his hair.

 

Chantelle gave an exaggerated sigh like she was barely tolerating his stupidity.

“Obviously I didn’t mean for me. You think he’s cute too though right? I’ve seen you looking at him. Is he your type?”

 

Harry had never “come out” exactly but he’d never hidden who he was and didn’t feel the need to label himself. It had become fairly obvious from a young age that he was partial to all genders.

 

Chantelle had caught him one day checking out a new doctor on the ward and they’d spent the evening discussing the boy she was into at school, so she was clearly aware of his preferences and it appeared she’d made it her personal mission to get him a boyfriend.

 

Apparently the latest target was Batman. Too bad Harry could never look the guy in the eye again or he’d likely spontaneously combust from humiliation and sexual frustration.

 

Christ, Chantelle was right. He hadn’t even seen this guy in full and he was already a mess around him. He spent every morning attempting to avoid looking in the direction of the window but failing miserably and sneaking regular glances when he thought he wouldn’t get caught. He was pathetic and apparently not as sneaky as he’d thought since his ridiculous schoolboy crush was clearly obvious to his young patient.

 

“Erm. I suppose yeah. I haven’t really had a good look at him but his eyes were pretty nice.” He managed, a lame response.

 

Chantelle just smirked back at him “Yeah sure, that’s why you trip over thin air when you watch him in the mornings and blush if you see him looking at you” she laughs, “his _pretty nice_ eyes.” With a final laugh and eye roll in his directed she’s walking off, clearly done with his inability to discuss his embarrassing crush.

 

* * *

 

The next morning Harry spies Chantelle over by the window holding a piece of paper up by the glass. It wasn’t unusual for the patients to hold up messages or drawings for their favourite superheroes but Chantelle had never really participated before, usually choosing to hang back and chat with Harry or Niall if he was around.

 

 

He usually likes to do a final round of goodbyes after his night shifts once all the kids are awake, he misses them when they’re all sleeping overnight. He doesn’t get to hear about their days or help them with schoolwork if he gets a chance. Everything is peaceful on a nice calm night shift but Harry always missed the hustle and bustle of a hospital during the day.

 

When he’s on day shifts he just likes a chat in the morning before he starts on the days work, to catch up on everything he’s missed on his days off. Chantelle always has a story or two from school. She’d been a patient on and off for a year according to Niall and she’d taken and instant interest in Harry when he’d first started. He was pretty taken with her if he was being honest, she had a spark in her, and such a passion for everything life. Her cancer had been aggressive and she’d been receiving treatment for over a year now. They were treating just as aggressively and the doctors felt that they had good chances of kicking its butt.

 

Chantelle liked to attend school as regularly as possible during her treatments so she’d often be on and off the ward. Working impossibly hard to maintain her grades so she could graduate with her classmates and friends.

 

Harry admired every single child and their families that he met through his job but he’d grown extremely close with Chantelle and her parents due to the amount of time she’d spent in hospital. The chemo would completely wipe her out but the spark in her eyes never faded despite the way her body sank into the mattress post chemo infusion like she didn’t have any energy left in her to even hold herself up anymore. During those moments, Harry liked to sit with her and tell her stories of his university days, stories that made her eyes light up and often elicited a weak chuckle, the most she could manage. He’d hold her hair back if she vomited and rubbed her back soothingly until the nausea passed. She’d always feel a bit better by morning; they just took it one day at a time.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Whatever Chantelle had written on the piece of paper, it had made Batman laugh, throwing his head back exposing the sharp angles of his jaw and his elegant neck. Harry wanted to lick the golden skin, taste it and explore the boy’s body with his mouth.

 

Holy shit, he so needed to get laid.

 

He watched Chantelle give an exasperated shake of her head and scribble another message. This time Batman read the message then looked up - directly at Harry like he’d known he’d been standing there the entire time. Head tilted and eyes thoughtful, assessing Harry with a small quirk of his lips.

 

With a noise that could unfortunately only be described as a small squeak, Harry turned and ducked out into the doorway.

 

“What did you say to him?” he whispered frantically at Chantelle when she came out and found him essentially hiding outside the room.

 

“Oh nothing, just that you wanted to f-“

 

“Language! Chantelle”

 

He could only describe the sound she made as an evil cackle. “Relax Harry, as if I’d embarrass you like that.” Chantelle rolled her eyes. She’d been doing that a lot more since her last birthday he’d noticed.

 

“He’s way hotter up close by the way. Amazing eyes and killer cheekbones.” Chantelle called back over her shoulder and she walked away, presumable to go and bug Niall about his extremely obvious crush on the new doctor Lisa.

 

Fuck. He needed to get a grip. He was not a teenage boy anymore; he could handle a crush, especially a crush where he wasn’t even expected to _speak_ to the other person.

 

 

 

It wasn’t like he was a shy person; he was usually the complete opposite. Wide grins and easy conversation came naturally to Harry. His mother always said he was magnetic, his easygoing friendly personality drawing people in without them realising. Harry made friends everywhere, in pubs, coffee shops and on the tube. Old ladies adored him and kids took to him instantly. He wasn’t bragging, he’d just never had problem making friends. He was simply likable.

 

 

He could totally be charming when he wanted to be, Nick was always complaining about his ability to pull when they were out during their university days, his best mate moaning that he’d die celibate because every guy he introduced to Harry took one look at his dimples and just about declared their love. Charming, flirty that used to be second nature for Harry; he was just a bit out of practice.

 

 

It had been easy, falling into a relationship during university. He’d been out with Nick at a club, the music loud and pumping and just enough of a buzz that had him in the centre of the dance floor, grinning like a maniac. Nick watching from the bar rolling his eyes fondly at his giant dork of a best friend.

 

He’d been approached by a cute guy, tall with artfully styled sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. It wasn’t unusual for Harry to be approached on a night out but this guy, Sam, took him by surprise, all flirty smiles and suggestive winks as he danced, hands firmly on Harry’s hips guiding them to the beat thumping bass.

 

He and Sam had moved quickly from there, Harry crazy about the other boy, couldn’t see himself in a world where he wasn’t with Sam, he kept Harry on his toes, their relationship full of fun and surprises.

 

The biggest surprise of all came when Harry walked in on him fucking another guy in his dorm room.

 

Turns out Harry had been the “other woman” and was completely oblivious.

 

Things were pretty messy after that. Nick had to pick up the pieces of a broken Harry, kept him functioning one day after another until each day was a little bit easier. Eventually he moved on, pulled himself together, got his degree and a job and moved his life to London. He’d worked hard to become a person he felt proud of and he was happy.

He’d felt ready to move on and start putting himself out there again to ease some of the loneliness he felt when he saw his friends in happy relationships. He was still hesitant, burnt so badly by his past mistakes but ready, he’d ease himself back into it.

 

* * *

 

 

Over the following few days Harry eased himself into the situation, gradually spending more time around the young superhero fanatics at the window, helping them draw pictures and make capes and masks in between his nursing duties. He’d managed to look at Batman more frequently, even managing a small smile that widened when he’d seen the light blush that spread across the other boy’s cheek and the way he’d bitten his lip shyly.

 

It felt more and more natural to walk into the room and smile up at Batman every day, occasionally throwing a quick wink at the other boy, the first time he’d done that he’d watched the boy fumble with the cloth he’d been holding, almost dropping it, sending Harry into a fit of giggles.

 

Now who had the upper hand, he thought to himself with satisfaction. 

Game on Batman.

 


End file.
